


technicolor.

by lordvoldyfarts



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-13
Updated: 2014-11-13
Packaged: 2018-02-25 05:37:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2610452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordvoldyfarts/pseuds/lordvoldyfarts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura goes to art gallery and finds an interesting piece and an intriguing companion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	technicolor.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt: Imagine Laura visiting an art gallery one day and she's standing there looking at a really complex painting and then Carmilla comes up and starts asking her questions about what Laura thinks about it, flirting etc, and Laura is thinking "who is this hottie why does she sound so well versed in this stuff" and then the receptionist of the gallery yells Carm's name to discuss something and once Carm leaves Laura looks at the corner of the piece and see's its says "Carmilla" and she freaks out :3

 

The piece is gorgeous, really. The line work is magnificent and the color choices are really quite brilliant.

Laura's never thought herself an art critic. She enjoys art. She finds the atmosphere of a gallery to be calming but she's by no means an expert. She knows only enough to enjoy the aesthetic qualities of the pieces she encounters.

Her friends think it strange how often she chooses to retreat to the semi-desolate gallery buried deep in town. Whenever something goes wrong or she needs to clear head, she rides her bicycle down to the gallery. She walks through, pausing at every piece. She finds that each time she comes, she finds something new and beautiful in her favorite paintings to admire.

Today, she's come to the gallery to cleanse her palette and calm down. She has a lit paper due in less than twenty four hours that she has been stressing over for weeks. She blanked entirely on her Biology exam and she's fairly certain she flunked it. Her roommate has a steady stream of boys coming through and it makes it extraordinarily difficult to get a good nights sleep when all she hears is giggling and 'hey, not there!'.

She's browsed leisurely by her ol' faithfuls, the pieces that always have a place in the gallery, before she shifts into the portion of the gallery that houses the latest exhibition. There's a new one for the first time in months and her excitement has been growing for days in anticipation of seeing the new work. The room is fairly empty, which is not surprising since it's only about 3 in the afternoon. Most people are still working or in class. She likes the gallery best at this time. It allows her to enjoy the work without disruption.

She's not sure what she expects as she begins to browse through the work, her knowledge on the artist behind the paintings quite limited. In fact, she didn’t even know the name of the artist. They kept it under wraps. She knows, and adores, the gallery's penchant for displaying unknown artist work so her expectations are quite high.

She is far from disappointed. Each piece is remarkable, with structured line work but messy color patterns that illustrate contrast and opposition quite beautifully. Laura is in awe. She stands in front of a piece that her eyes kept drifting toward. It's a warm painting, colors of red and orange and yellow smattered across the canvas. She feels...attached to it in a strange way. She can't take her eyes off of it.

She's been staring at it for close to five minutes when she feels someone slide up next to her. She looks out of the corner of her eye and sees a girl so exquisite Laura's sure she's a work of art herself. She's got a sharp, angular face and dark curls. Laura wants to shake the hand of the creator of this masterpiece. She's grinning at Laura now and Laura smiles shyly back. She gestures toward the painting with a nod of her head.

"What do you think?" She asks and Laura jumps because she hadn't expected the girl to speak to her. Laura's eyes shift back to the painting. She gives a light sigh.

“I love it. I think it’s magnificent. The contrast between the sharpness of the lines and the softness of the coloring is brilliant.” She praises, her eyes so intently focused on the painting, she doesn’t see the satisfied smile that creeps across the girls face. “My favorite part is how much emotion you can see in this. Each of the brushstrokes seems so deliberate and full of feeling. I know that probably sounds ridiculous but I feel…connected to the artist. As I can feel how conflicted they felt while they were working on this.” Laura continues. She looks back toward the girl, who has a wry smile on her face as she stares at Laura. Laura averts her eyes and blushes.

“Are you an art student?” She asks and Laura makes a face. She shakes her head.

“Oh no. I’m a journalism major – art is more of a past time. And it’s mostly art appreciation. I could never make anything.” She responds and the girl turns to face her.

“You’re incredibly perceptive. You should consider a career in the art world.” She pauses now and looks Laura up and down which makes Laura’s ears burn a bright red.  “You’d fit right in.” She says with a smirk.

“Thanks, that’s really nice of you to say.” She responds, a little awkwardly, because this girl is beautiful. Her voice is low and edgy and Laura feels as if she has to lean into her and _focus_ so she doesn’t miss a word of what she’s saying. Laura isn’t sure why she chose to speak to her, as most people consider viewing art a solitary activity, but she’s glad for it. She stares at the painting for a few more moments before the girl next to her says,

“Have you seen the others?” Her voice is low and it almost sounds like a whisper. She has but she shakes her head anyway.

“No.” She replies in a tone matching the girls own. Her companion’s smile grows.

“Care to walk around with me….?” She asks, gesturing to the next painting over. Laura grins.

“Laura.” She says, filling the silence. “And I would love to.” They walk around the room, pausing at each piece. The girl asks how she feels when they pause at each painting. Laura giddily explaining her perceptions of each piece. The girl grinning. They laugh together, being much louder than most patrons of the gallery would prefer, but Laura finds that she doesn’t care. This girl is wonderful. She’s responsive and she listens with rapt attention any time Laura says something. She grins easily and hasn’t moved more than a few inches away from Laura since they started walking around. Laura swears that a few times, she’s even felt their hands brush. She wishes that she would have grabbed her hand.

They finish standing before the painting where they first began. Laura looks over. “Back to the start.” She says, shifting slightly so she’s leaning closer to the girl. She doesn’t even know her name but she feels connected to her somehow. She’s given her one of the most enjoyable afternoons of her life. She’s rarely ever able to talk about art as freely she was able to today. Laura is about to say something else when the clacking of heels distracts her. From the doorway of the exhibit, a woman sighs exasperatedly. “Carmilla. Can you come with me for a moment? We need your assistance with something.” The girl next to her sighs and rolls her eyes. She looks to Laura.

“It was an absolute pleasure to meet you, cutie. I hope I see your name underneath a critique one day.” She says, smiling. Laura blushes and watches as the girl walks away. She turns once more before exiting the room to live Laura one final smile. Laura turns back to the painting, a grin pulling at her mouth. It’s only then that her eyes drift to the corner of the painting and she sees the name of the artist behind the masterpieces.

Carmilla. She whips her head around, her heartbeat quickening.

She’d just discussed beautiful, wonderful artwork with the artist herself.

And she had no idea.

Laura walks out of the gallery that day in a daze. She spends much of the night wondering why Carmilla had never revealed herself. Laura is sure that if those beautiful pieces were of her own creation, she would be shouting about them from the top of every mountain.

She goes back to the gallery the next day.

No Carmilla.

-

The package is at her door when she arrives back from classes.

There’s no name or return address. It’s large and she can barely hold it in her arms. She drops it lightly down on her bed and tears open the packaging. Her eyes widen and a gasp escapes her when she sees what’s inside.

The painting. The warm, wonderful painting she was standing in front of when she met Carmilla. Attached to it is a note that reads, ‘You love it more than I do. Write about it in your first piece.’ She grins though her stomach sinks a little. As her fingers drift over the paper, she notices that it’s folded in half. She unfolds it. ‘I couldn’t decide if I wanted to do this but you’re lovely and I have a weakness for beautiful girls like you. Call me. I’m in town for a while. I’d love to see you again’.

Laura’s face is flushed red and her heart is beating quickly. Within seconds, she’s pulling her phone out of her back pocket and plugging the number into her phone, waiting with a bated breath as the dial tone sounds.


End file.
